April 20 is a busy day in the history of the National Hockey League. At all the big moments, we saw some new records and Stanley Cup playoff first. This time machine has been fired and ready for decades to relive all the memories this date has to offer.
Wayne Gretzky and Pittsburgh Penguins
On April 20, 1992, Gretzky became the first player in the Stanley Cup playoffs to score 300 points. The milestone came in his four assists performances, beating his former team, the Edmonton Oilers, now 5-5, in Game 2 of the Smythe Divisional Semi-finals. The great player remains the only player in NHL history to earn 300 playoff points after retirement at 382. His old teammate Mark Messier ranked second in the playoffs with 295 career points.
The following year, April 20, 1993, the Pittsburgh Penguin won 13Th Stanley Cup playoff game. The historic victory was the New Jersey Devils who whitewashed 7-0 in the second game of the Patrick Division semifinal. Ron Francis received four assists, while Tom Barrasso closed 36 saves for his third professional playoffs.
The Penguins expanded their winning streak to 14 games before the Devils defeated them on April 25, 1993. In the next seven games, the New Islanders eliminated them to end the Penguin reign of the two-year Stanley Cup title.
More Stanley Cup Playoffs First
On April 20, 1950, Don Raleigh of the New York Rangers became the first player in league history to score a back-to-back Stanley Cup final. Two nights after beating Detroit Red Wings in Game 4 overtime, he hit 1:38 again in Game 5 overtime, which put the Rangers in a 3-2 series lead. Raleigh was the only player to do the feat for the Montreal Canadaens in the 1993 final.
Jean Beliveau won his first and only playoff hat trick on April 20, 1968. The legendary forward beat the Chicago Blackhawks three goals in the second game of the Canadiens’ 4-1 victory over the Stanley Cup semifinal. The Blackhawks opened the scoring before Beliveau listed it as a game in the first phase. He finished a hat-trick with two Powerball goals in the middle frame.
Bobby Orr scored his first Pro Stanley Cup playoff goal on April 20, 1969. He scored the final game-winning goal in Boston Bruins’ 3-2 defeat to the Canadiens. In 74 playoff games, he completed his outstanding career with 26 goals and 92 points.
Tony Esposito earned his nickname for “Tony 0” in his outstanding rookie season in 1969-70, when he won the NHL Record 15 closing. He received the ball with a 3-0 draw on Game 2 of the Stanley Cup semi-final on April 20, 1971.
Just three years later, another Hall of Fame Netminder won his first career in the playoffs. Bernie’s parents stopped everything from the Rangers with a 4-0 victory in the first game of the Stanley Cup semi-finals. Rick MacLeish scored two goals and an additional assist, while Gary Dornhoefer scored three assists.
The Winnipeg Jets beat Minnesota 5-0 on April 20, 2018 to get out of the first round. Goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves to get a second straight lockdown. This marks the franchise’s first Stanley Cup playoff series since entering the league as an Atlanta batsman in 1999. This is the playoffs since the original Jets (now Arizona Coyotes) won the 1987 Calgary Flames’ Smith Divisional Semifinals.
On April 20, 2023, the Wanderers defeated the Devils 5-1 in Game 2 of the first round of the Eastern Conference. Chris Kreider scored two powerful goals, increasing his total to four in the series, becoming the first in NHL history to score four in the first two games of the playoff year.
Odd number and ending
On April 20, 1958, the Canadians defeated the Bruins 5-3 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final. Bernie Geoffrion scored two goals as the Canadiens were just the second Stanley Cup team to win three straight consecutive wins in NHL history. Toronto Maple Leaf was the first team to do so between 1947 and 1949.
St. Louis Blues made his first appearance in free agent market when they signed Doug Harvey on April 20, 1968. The 44-year-old defender played the final year of his Hall of Fame career in St. Louis and showed he had a little more stuff in the tank. He played 70 regular season games, the most he played since the 1956-57 season and helped the Blues reach the 1969 Stanley Cup final with four assists in eight playoff games.
Craig Mactavish skated in the NHL game on April 20, 1997. Blues’ season and Mactavish’s career ended after losing 3-1 to the Detroit Red Wings. He fell in NHL history and was the end player who skated without a helmet. The league enforced helmets before the 1979-80 season, but Mactavish was the last player to have a grandfather not competed.
On April 20, 2002, Curtis Joseph defeated the Islanders’ 13th professional playoffs in Game 2 of the Maple Leafs’ quarterfinals 2-0. Mats Sundin assisted Toronto’s third-stage goals. Joseph retired in 16 professional playoffs. Only Patrick Roy (23) and Martin Brodeur (24) have more in NHL history.
Related: The top three maple leaf goalkeepers in history
Jaromir Jagr made history in Game 4 of the first round playoff series where the Florida Panthers beat the Islanders 2-1 on April 20, 2016. Jagr set a powerful goal from Jonathan Huberdeau in the second stage to become the fifth player to score postseason points in history.
He will get another playoff point and then return to his home country, the Czechs, to play. Penguin captain Sidney Crosby joined his 200-point club in the 2022 playoffs when he scored two goals and 10 points in the first round against the Rangers. He is sitting at 201 points now.
On tonight in 2021, Tristan Jarry became the first goalkeeper since Barrasso (four in 1991-92), setting the first goalkeeper with four assists in a season, while the Devils scored six goals for the fifth time in history, two milestones. The last one was against the Hartford Whalers on April 6, 1996. This special scoring case in April was eventually won 7-6 by the Penguins.
To continue the goal milestone, Spencer Knight became the first goalkeeper in Panthers history to win an NHL debut, and he and his team were in a 5-1 victory over Columbus Blue Jacket on April 20, 2021. 235 days.
On April 20, 2022, Alex Ovechkin scored his 49th goal, a player over 36 in NHL history passed the ball with the biggest goal in a season.
The same night, John Klingberg recorded his 300th assist in the NHL, becoming the third Dallas Stars defensive player behind Sergei Zubov (438) and Craig Hartsburg (315). He is now with Minnesota’s wild after signing with the Anaheim Ducks in the offseason and trading with Minnesota on the 2023 trade deadline.
On April 20, 2023, Cale Makar received his 46th playoff assist, leading the second-most in NHL history with a defensive player under 24 or older (Paul Coffey, 59).
On April 20, 2024, Brad Marchand passed Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, the only one who finished second in the Bruins’ historical playoff points list. He was just behind Ray Bourque, but he didn’t have a chance to pass him as he plays for the Florida Panthers in the playoffs.
Happy birthday to you
Mike Lampman was born on April 20, 1950. While the name may not ring the bell, the difference between Lampman is that it is California’s first player to arrive in the NHL. He played 96 games for the Blues between 1973 and 1977, the Vancouver Canucks and the Washington Capitals. He is 75 years old today.
Other notable players celebrating their birthday are Viacheslav Fetisov (67), Chris Mason (49), Brent Seabrook (40), Nick Bonino (37), Colton Sceviour (36), Derek Grant (35), Derlan McIlrath (33), Michael Ferland (33), Ben Hutis (32), Gabriel (32), and Adam Erne (30).
*Originally built by Greg Boysen
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